New Zealand’s ultimate pinball wizard announced

Dave Peck from Pukekohe.

Eight regional finalists have tonight gone head to head in the national finals of the Mac’s Interstate Pinball Competition, with Dave Peck from Pukekohe crowned as the most talented flipperhead in New Zealand.

Peck has won a trip for two to Pittsburgh, where he will go up against some of the most talented pinballers in the world at the Pinburgh Pinball Match-Play Championship this July.

A seasoned pinball player, Peck has already competed in around 100 competitions all over the world.

“I bought my first pinball machine when I was 18 years old from a pizza place that was going bust, then I got another one and another one and now I have 124 machines,” says Peck, who has one of the largest private collections in the world.

“I started slow today, but in the end I got into the groove a little bit more, had a couple of good games, then I was into it. Pinburgh is one big tournament that I haven’t been to yet, so it’s going to be awesome to be able to compete there later this year!”

Lewis Tennant from Auckland, a ‘social professional pinballer’ who’s been playing pinball since the late ‘90s, took out second place, while Jeremy Takacs from Wellington, who has been playing socially since 1998, came in third.

Greer from Mac’s says the inaugural Mac’s Interstate Pinball Competition has been a great success, with over 800 people competing across the country.

“The art of pinball is having a resurgence and it was great to see so many Kiwis getting behind it and trying their luck. The final was incredibly competitive but Dave was a very worthy winner - I’m sure he will do us proud in July!”

The national finals of the Mac’s Interstate Pinball Competition were held in Auckland on Thursday, 8 February 2018